Barr reportedly tried to undermine prosecutors working on Michael Cohen case


Not long after Attorney General William Barr was sworn into office in February 2019, he began debating with federal prosecutors in New York who brought the case against Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer and fixer, questioning why they decided to charge him with campaign finance violations, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations, after admitting he paid hush money to a porn star who said she had an affair with Trump. Cohen said he did this at the direction of Trump, who was referred to as "Individual-1" in court papers.
After several weeks of discussions with prosecutors, Barr asked Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C., to draft a memo with legal arguments that could have raised questions about the legitimacy of Cohen's conviction, several people told the Times. There is little Barr could have done to change the outcome of the case, a Justice Department official told the Times, as Cohen was convicted and sentenced before Barr became attorney general.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After this incident, Barr told aides and other U.S. attorneys that the Southern District — which has been investigating several Trump allies — needs to be reined in, the Times reports. Last week, Geoffrey Berman, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was ousted, with Barr initially saying he was stepping down. Berman said he had no intention of resigning, and only agreed to leave after Barr sent him a letter saying he had been fired by Trump. Barr told NPR on Thursday that Berman was "living on borrowed time from the beginning," and it is "conspiracy theorists" who are suggesting "that there's some ulterior motive involved."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'